Many traditional emergency response vehicles, e.g. pumper and aerial firefighting trucks, draw water or other fluids from an external source to deliver the same via hoses and/or cannons onto a fire. This external source is often times a city's water supply, connected to the firefighting vehicle via a fire hydrant. In rural areas, this external source is often times supplied by a tanker truck, that travels with other firefighting vehicles to the location of a fire. The firefighting vehicles connect to the tanker, and thereafter, direct water or other fluid carried by the tanker onto the fire.
In recent years, the design of many contemporary emergency response vehicles has shifted to incorporate a tank in the body of the vehicle that provides a stand alone source of water or other fluids commonly used in firefighting operations. With this design, many fires in urban areas can be dealt with without the need to connect to the city's water supply. Obviating this need results in faster response times. Similarly, the need to send a tanker truck to rural areas to fight fires is also reduced, as the emergency response vehicle used to fight the fire carries its own water or other fluid. Sending a single vehicle as opposed to multiple vehicles can reduce the cost associated with fighting fires in rural areas.
Unfortunately, several problems arise when incorporating a stand alone tank into an emergency response vehicle. As one example, the tank is typically mounted to the body of the vehicle. In this configuration, the tank requires additional support structure to support the weight of the tank. Additionally, the support structure and the tank itself reduce the amount of space on the body of the vehicle ordinarily used to store equipment such as ladders, axes, and the like.
As another example, the tank is often times mounted proximate to, or at, the top of the body of the vehicle. As a result, the overall center of gravity of the vehicle is high, and there is an increased risk of rollover on certain terrains. This increased center of gravity also affects the stability, ride, and handling of the vehicle.
In view of the above, there is a need in the art for a stand alone tank in an emergency response vehicle that alleviates the above problems. The invention provides such a tank. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.